Animal Parade: Diary of a Rose
by Amberleaf le Haunt
Summary: Rose is just 16. She came to Castanet after a life of being a criminal for rehabilitation. All of the boys are interested in her, but what will it take to open up her heart? Toby vows to find out, but it might be more difficult than he thinks.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my new Harvest Moon: Animal Parade story, entitled Diary of a Rose! ^.^; Lame title, I know, but I'm not exactly one for coming up with ah-maze-ing titles! XDD Anyways! ^.^; Enjoy this story! :3 'Course, it's fairly weird and not like anything that necessarily happens in the game, but, you know... ^.^; **

**Enjoy! :DD **

**Also! Just because I figured it would be confusing! ^.^; If it has a date and time at the start, and it's in diary format, it's Rose's POV! If it doesn't, and it's in first-person story format, then it's Toby's POV! ^.^; **

**Now, _really_ enjoy it! :3  
**

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Diary of a Rose Ch.1

Just for Rehab

_Spring 2__nd__, morning_

Hiya, there! I am Rose. I'm 16 years old. This is my new diary.

I currently live in Castanet, on a farm in the Clarinet District. I didn't _ask_ to come here, but, before that, I lived in a house in a city with a couple of deadbeats who liked to go to bars at night and steal things from big huge department stores. So, naturally, I became a criminal, too!

I was not as good as my parents, and I was constantly being caught for stealing things. Ever since I was 8, I was stealing things. However, this very last time, I tried to steal a car, with my parents' help—and they decided that our family was just too much for them to handle, and my parents went to jail, and I was taken here. I must admit, this _is_ a very nice farm... Yet, it just seems so _difficult_ to farm! Ah, well; it doesn't really matter anyways, since I'm just only here for 2 years of rehab. I can stay afterwards, if I would like—I'm still not decided, though.

However, that last day was probably the very last time I was to see my parents. It doesn't really matter to me—I never really liked 'em, anyways; but... they were my _parents_. My _guardians_. My _caretakers_.

It's hard to think when so much is going on at once. I'm going to rest for a little while—or, maybe not... Here comes a man...

_Later_

He was the mayor. He basically told me how to use all my farm tools, gave me a Farming Starter Set, told me that I have to pay him 5000 G for the house and the farm land, and left. That was pointless. Oh, well.

_Spring 3__rd__, evening_

Huh! What a busy day! First of all, I went and got a guy named Bo to fix some bridge that leads up to the mines. It'll be done tomorrow. Next, I went to the Horn Ranch in Flute Fields and got a cow from some man named Cain... at least, I _think_ his name was Cain... You see, I'm tired, so I can't think too much. I bought a bunch of seeds and practically passed out, planting them all. I went around the little Valley where I live but didn't find much in the way of food—I went to Harmonica Town, the little town just west of my farmland, and met these two women at some Ocarina Inn. They gave me a plate of cookies that replenished most of my energy! I was so happy, that I ate it and skipped back down the road to my farm, where I planted the rest of my things and watered them all and now I'm going to bed. What a horribly long run-on sentence. Good night!

_Spring 4__th__, afternoon_

This morning, when I woke up, Finn reminded me that we still have to see the Harvest Goddess! I've been so busy in the last few days that I haven't had a chance. Well, anyways, we went; but it turns out that the bridge to the Garmon Mines (and, consequently, the Harvest Goddess's pond) was broken! Poor Bo—the one having to fix the bridge—was so hungry, he nearly passed out! Luckily, however, I had a strawberry and some milk in my rucksack, and he ate them right away. He was just _so_ pleased! He told me to get his toolbox from Mayor Hamilton, so I went; but, however, it turns out that I have to meet everyone first! That sucks. Well, I'm going out now...!

I stood just outside the Waterwheel, fishing and hoping to catch some good fish to sell at the Fishery, knowing that I probably wouldn't catch anything good, that the land and the sea were not being fruitful lately and that this was the reason why the fish shop was going under; knowing that if it went under I would have to try to rent a room at the Inn, or else I might have to go live in the lighthouse or something. I had heard that there were some places where it was possible to live, such as in the fields and the forests just beyond the Flute Fields farms. However, I was hoping that it wouldn't come to that.

I was enjoying the peace and quiet when, all of a sudden, I heard footsteps. I whirled around. Nobody _ever_ came to the Waterwheel; I was always alone.

And then, she was in front of me.

The girl was small, lithe. She wore working clothes, and she carried a watering can in her hand.

"Why, hello." I practically stumbled over the words. "Who're you? Nobody ever comes down here, and I've never seen you before, so I figure that you must be new. Where do you hail from?"

She waved her hand dismissively. Her voice was harsh, as if she had lived the hard life before now. "Oh, just the city. I came here to avoid being put in juvie. I'm taking care of the empty farmland in the Clarinet district. Any further questions?"

"_Just_ the city?" I gasped. "_Wow!_ You were a criminal?"

She looked away, muttering, "Well, no... My parents were. They were a couple of easily hated deadbeats who taught me into a life of stealing and crime. They went to jail; and, for me, it was either go to juvie, or go to this place. Naturally, I chose this place, as I didn't think that running a farm could be _too_ hard... Right?"

"Well, yes," I murmured. "Although you know what it's like now, right?"

"Yes!" She looked at me, eyes wide. "It's _hard_!"

I laughed. "Haha! So, you still gonna stick around?"

"You _bet_! I wouldn't leave this place—beautiful green fields, flowers in all colours, running streams—for _anything_!" She stared at me. "No matter how much I'm antagonized, I'm staying here. Forever. Or, at least, for the next two years. For now, I'm just here for "rehab". Then, after that, it's up to me, whether I want to stay here or not. Got it?"

"Yeh-Yeah... Sure," I murmured. "Whatever you want. Oh, by the way, here's my old fishing rod." I dug it out of my pocket and handed it to her. "Don't fall in!" I joked.

She glared at me, but didn't say anything more. She put the fishing rod into her backpack, whirled around, and ran back up the hill. In a few seconds, she was gone.

It was then that I realized that I didn't even know her name.


	2. Chapter 2

***hisses* Chapter 2! I just uploaded these all on the same day, so... XD But I might post Chapters 3 - 6 at different times tomorrow. What do you think? ^.^; **

**Anyways, enjoy! :3 **

**Toby: I know you will! The girl changes... sorta... I think... *stares after her in longing***

**All right; that's enough, Toby! ^.^;  
**

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Diary of a Rose Ch.2

And Then She Was Gone

I raced back to the fish shop once she had left. I was dying to know who she was—surely Ozzie or Paolo might know?

As I passed her farmland, I briefly looked up the hill. I saw a figure darting up the path above the pond, heading to Garmon Mine District. Who it was, I had no clue; but it sure looked a _lot_ like the mysterious farmer girl.

I arrived at the fish shop, panting. I had just run all the way through Harmonica Town but I wasn't fit in the least; I had totally destroyed my lungs, it felt like. Slowly, I got my breath back, and my lungs eventually felt better, not at all like the horrible burning sensation I'd had before.

I walked into the Fishery, and Ozzie glanced up in surprise as I came in, taking in my figure: burning red cheeks and face, heaving chest, and prancing feet. I leaped about nervously.

"Why, hello, son," he said. "What are you doing here? I thought you were at the waterwheel."

"Well... I was. But... it's a long story." I gazed in the general direction of her farm, as if I could see through walls.

"Seen that farmer girl, 'ave you?" he asked, his eyes twinkling. "Well, sit down, lad! I've got time, plenty of time; there's no rush."

He led me into the back room where we both sat down on chairs and I described my part of the story.

"...And then she was gone," I finished, sometime later. "And it was then that I realized that I didn't even know her name."

Ozzie's eyes sparkled. "You're in love, eh?"

"No!" I protested. However, I knew it was true. I was in love with this mysterious farmer girl who was just here for rehab, this girl who wasn't perfect by _any_ stretch of imagination. It briefly crossed my mind how Renee might feel, but I pretty soon forgot it.

"Do you want to know her name?" Ozzie teased.

"Dad!" I groaned. "Of course I do. Wait; is that how she knew where to find me?"

"Yep!" Ozzie looked very cheerful, and somewhat smug; like a kid who wouldn't tell his little sister where he'd hidden the candy. "I told her about you, and where you were; she didn't seem interested in finding you, but I guess her curiosity won over her contempt!"

_Curiosity... Contempt...? Oh, boy; she's gonna be a tough cookie to crack!_ I thought as I left the shop, to go down to the pond to fish. Normally I would go to the dock, but today I decided to go to the little pond in her farmland; I could do with catching a few good-sized, plump carp for once... And maybe I'd even see her there, too.

_Spring 5__th__, evening_

Today I _finally_ got across the bridge to see the Harvest Goddess. That was great! This morning Bo came to my house. The bridge was fixed, he said! Finn and I went to see the Harvest Goddess right away. Well, anyways, we went; but the way was blocked by angry animals! We got an Animal Whistle from some guy and blew on it and it blew them all away, simply because they were _so happy_. Well... it turns out that they were guarding the Harvest Goddess! She's so weak that they decided to protect her, but then they saw that I had a good heart... Wait. Stop right there. Good heart? Hmm... I haven't had the urge to steal yet, but, then again, that's just simply because I know and like everyone that I've met so far in this town. Or maybe I really _am_ changing.

Well, anyways; we met the Harvest Goddess and heard about a bell quest, where we basically just have to do things to ring all these bells, or else she fears that the land might become inhabitable, _she_ being the Harvest Goddess, of course.

Well, anyways; it's getting kind of late. I think I'll go and find out what I've gotta do for the first bell quest, as if the land should become inhabitable or something to that sort I will have to go to jail.


	3. Chapter 3

**Yays! :DD This is totally unrealistic, but whatever. XD Enjoy! ^.^; **

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Diary of a Rose Ch.3

A Goldfish in Its Bowl

_Spring 6__th__, afternoon_

This morning, I was fishing in the coldwater streams by the mountains. Apparently, the area has lots of goldfish; I caught a bunch! Unfortunately, I could only keep one; I picked the prettiest, most orange one, and carried it in a bucket to the general store. And guess what? I got to keep it! Barbara congratulated me on my find, and then she gave me the old 65-gallon fish tank they keep in back. I've already washed it out and put some soil from my garden in the bottom, filled it up, and put in the fish. It looks a bit bare right now but Barbara warned me that he would eventually grow big, big, big; he would eat any plants I put in there, and a lot of the water plants that you can get around here are toxic to fish anyways. Oh, well. It doesn't matter. I'm not too worried about some stupid little plants.

Barbara told me that goldfish eventually grow up to be big, really big—I didn't know that; I'll have to remember that for future references! Supposedly, _no_ fish can live in bowls—no, not even those... what were they called? Betters or something of the like—I have no clue. Well, anyways, my goldfish lives in his big tank now, and that will just have to do from now on!

I don't have much to do now, except maybe go back to my farm and water some more of my crops. I forgot to do that today, mostly because I wanted to get to the mines... Haha, so much for that; I ended up fishing, instead.

_Spring 7__th__, evening_

Phew! I've been so busy these past couple of days since I wrote last that I've had no time to write! But, boy; do I have news for you!

Barbara brought me a _second_ goldfish this morning! She said that the one I had was actually a male, so she brought me a female to go with it because she thought that I might like to see some goldfish babies! She also brought me a bunch of black worms that she said could be collected from the mountain streams where the goldfish are found. She said that you have to chop them up and the baby goldfish will readily eat them. They're some of the best food out there for goldfish! She also said that I have to get the garden soil I put in the tank out because supposedly there's bad nutrients in it or whatever. We had to go back down to the mountain stream and collect some sand off the bottom of the river bed. We also collected a bunch of rocks and a couple of plant species that survived in the goldfishes' habitat and decorated the tank up quite nicely with rockwork and a few plants in the corners and such…. I can't wait to see my two goldfish have babies! Their names are Harold and Delyliah (deh-LEE-lee-AH).

Anyways, I made quite a nice profit the other day by planting my fields up with lettuce and cabbage! I couldn't plant the _entire_ thing, but I got about a third done. I made 1300 G! Most impressive for somebody who could barely get by before, don't you think?

Today, I went back to Rose's farm. She was working in her fields, but she whipped around, startled, as I walked up the path past her farm to the dock.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, her dark brown eyes like golden fire and her—albeit short—hair waving in the wind like flames.

"Uh…. I'm fishing," I explained calmly. "The pond by your farm has a bunch of good fish there, you see!"

She deflated, sagging down a bit. Now she just looked like a normal tired out, sweaty girl holding a hoe.

"Hey, what's that?" I asked, pointing over to a rather large clear fish tank with lots of rocks and two tiny orange fish swimming in it. There were a few things that looked like seaweed swimming in it, and I glanced up at Rose inquiringly.

"Oh…. That's just my goldfish tank. This baby is 65 gallons," she explained, running over and firmly patting the top.

"Wow—impressive!" I stared at the two beautiful golden fishes swimming inside. "You know, you could start a saltwater tank, perhaps? The only thing is that I think you need some fancy filters or whatever. Barbara should have some things—"

She cut me off, holding up her hand in a "stop" kind of motion. "Say no more. What kind of fish can you catch in the ocean? I'm looking for a small, colourful one that either stays that way all through life, or that grow really huge over time, like goldfish. Any ideas?" she requested.

"Sorry. I'm not quite sure. I know of gobies, but they're generally not all that colourful. They're brown," I told her.

"How big?" she inquired.

"Not quite sure…. A few inches, maybe?"

"Do you know of any freshwater fish?" she asked.

"Hmm…. there's bitterlings that I know of. In a tank of your size, you could have 12 or 13 of them. They're quite striking," I explained.

"Maybe I'll get Barbara to get me some glass and silicone," she mused, starting to walk away now. She walked slowly, her hand on her chin, deep in thought. She slowly paced up the path to the Garmon Mine District, ready to ask Barbara about the fish tank, I guessed.

"Uh…. Good luck!" I called, waving after her. Once she was gone, I took out my fishing rod and a few plastic bags, filling them with water, ready to put any fish I could catch into them.

The entire time I thought about Rose. _Am I in love with her? No,_ I thought, shaking my head vigorously at myself in disbelief.

I had been _so_ sure that I wasn't in love with her just 4 days ago. However, the fact was, with each passing day I woke up to, each day I was less and less sure of myself.

_What should I do?_ I asked myself. However, that was one question that I just couldn't answer.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is getting to be very interesting~! XD Anyways, enjoy! ^.^; **

**Toby: If you like me getting into awkward situations, then, well, of course you will... T.T; **

**Toby! *slaps* Stop it with the negative attitude!**

**Toby: Ow! Fine. Enjoy, everyone! ^.^;  
**

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Diary of a Rose Ch.4

Oh, No Reason

_Spring 12th, morning_

I haven't seen Toby again for four days…. Five, if you count today. The last time I saw him was that afternoon on the 7th when he was telling me about the saltwater fish tanks. Hmm…. I did go to Barbara but she didn't have all the right materials that day…. She said that if I could collect a lot of glass, then I could get Ramsey to melt it down into glass sheets of certain lengths, and if I brought her the sheets then she could build me a tank. The only problem is that she'd have to come down here to the farm to build it, and I'd have to pay her 1000 G for the tank. Oh, well. It's going to be _huge_! She said 200 gallons at least.

Well, anyways, since then, I've talked Mira into going back to the Refinery shop, and I've been doing lots of mining. Today, I'm going mining again, and I'll hopefully collect some more White Wonderfuls, as I've heard that they usually produce the most glass when refined, and sometimes the "rare, highly esteemed" white diamond. I've judged that I'll need approximately 164 glass pieces for each piece—4 foot long by 4 foot tall. It's going to be a cube—not exactly sure how many gallons or whatever that is, but I do know that an aquarium that is 4 foot long, 4 foot wide, and 1 foot tall is 120 gallons…. So mine is bigger. It'll be so big that I'll have to keep it outside, though, or so Barbara told me.

I sat by the dock, absentmindedly casting out my fishing rod. I wasn't at the docks, per se; I was sitting in front of the lighthouse. The white cat by the moon stone in the ground came, purring, over to me, and I patted it absentmindedly.

_I wonder what Rose is doing….? I haven't seen her at all in the last few days,_ I mused, somewhat miserably. It suddenly hit me that tomorrow morning, I could take some binoculars just before 6:00 AM, and then, if I could find the right position, then I could see her working on her farm in the morning! Yes…. That was a good idea. _Now, I've just gotta actually _get_ some binoculars! Hmm…. Paolo might have some…._ Paolo was the little fishing expert child inside the lighthouse; he probably needed one to see ships or something when the lighthouse was running. Didn't that make at least _some_ sense?

It was very cloudy and the air was very humid. _It'll probably rain tomorrow_. I was acting a little cynical over this Rose thing, so perhaps some good rain, and, therefore, good opportunities for fishing would do me some good.

I yawned, kicking my legs, which dangled over the water. One of my legs kicked a wave, splashing some droplets up over the cat. She hissed and dashed away, and I sighed. I shook my leg dry, and lay back onto my back, staring up at the sky and clouds. I got somewhat dizzy watching the racing clouds, so I had to sit back up, shaking my head to clear it.

I stared out to sea. The waves were soaring and crashing now; any boats that were out there would be in a hazardous situation. _No wait…. There are none. No boats can go out!_ I sighed again. _No boats…._

All of a sudden, I heard a _crash_ and it began to rain. This was odd; the weather usually never changed until 6 AM the next day!

I checked my watch. _Ehh…. It is 5:30 PM._ It was raining harder now, so I grabbed my fishing rod and ran for the Fishery shop.

Behind me, the door closed, and then it opened again. I heard a crash of thunder and saw a white bright light of lightning, and Paolo ran in after me.

_Spring 12__th__, evening_

I flopped backwards onto my bed, and opened up my journal, vowing to write a good, long entry while it was storming outside and I had time, to make up for the last few days of not really writing.

Nah…. Trying to write a narrative novel is hard work. I'll just make my diary the normal way—as a diary.

Anyways, I was outside and about to head for Harmonica Town, but then this storm started, so I had to quickly ring the bell and let my animals—a duck, a chick, and a cow—inside, and then rush inside myself. What a storm! Phew!

I quickly did some rearranging after I came in, so it's 6:25 now. Hmm; it's not that late, and I don't _want_ to be stuck inside all evening! Perhaps I'll brave a trip to the Mines. There's not really all that much to say right now….

_Spring 12__th__, almost midnight_

I just got back from the mines! Great Harvest Goddess, that was excruciating but insanely fun, all at the same time! I collected a bunch more White Wonderfuls and a couple purple ones, too.

I thought I saw my goldfish swimming along together and thought I saw a few white things. Perhaps they were eggs? In any case, I'll find out tomorrow morning. I'm just glad I put a glass cover on that tank, or else it would be overflowing with water right now! Good night; see you in the mo—

_Spring 13__th__, morning_

Oh my! Last night, I fell asleep in the closing words of my entry! Anyways, it doesn't matter, since I was on my last word: _morning_. Well, I've gotta go feed the animals and water the crops now. I'll also check on my goldfish tank for eggs. The storm of last night has passed; I'm going to be very, very busy today!

The storm had passed. The seas had calmed down, and I'd gotten the binoculars from Paolo the previous night. I was all set to climb the huge hill overlooking the farmland and just sit there, watching her.

I ran through the town, stopping briefly to say hi to the shop owners, most of whom were opening the doors of their shops and checking to see how wet the pavement in front of their shops were. I was enjoying the wet morning sunshine. It was warm and rather humid, and water hung in the air, but the morning was so beautiful that I couldn't possibly care.

I ran up to where the school was, and attempted to judge where I could climb up onto the cliffs and run around to where the cliff overlooked Rose's farmland.

I saw a little pathway just beside the school, so I ran to the end and grabbed hold onto the dirt and grasses on the cliff. I braced my feet on the railing surrounding the little pathway and leaped up, the binoculars smacking me in the face. I scrambled up and sat down, rubbing my cheeks. "Ow…. Not a good idea!" I muttered.

I stood up shakily, realizing the wrong move could send me plunging down onto the pavement or a building's roof below. I walked carefully around the dangerous parts until my head stopped throbbing, then scampered around the bend and off across the uneven grass towards the cliff. I would have to hide once I got to the edge; it shouldn't be _too_ hard, though, as I had briefly studied the area a few days ago. There were a lot of tall, grassy areas at the edge of the cliff; the only thing I'd have to be careful about was that Calvin, who had gone up there a couple of times to explore, had told me that, after rain, there were a _lot_ of slippery, muddy spots near the edges of the cliff and that I'd have to be careful not to fall down. Falling down could ultimately lead to my death, although Calvin told me that he had fallen down a few times. He said that if you fall, you should try your best to land in either a bush or a river. He said that he'd fallen into the river by the Garmon Mine District a couple of times. Supposedly, the river either led out to sea, or it led to the pond in the farmland. Either way, there was a beach near the sea entrance, and if you could swim, you just had to swim that way. It'd be fine, he told me.

I only hoped he was right.

I slowly crawled to the edge of the cliff, clutching grasses and testing each place where I put my hand down, just in case a hole should open up and I wasn't ready.

I realized that I was being insanely spazzy, but I wasn't really all that comfortable with heights, ever since that one day when Bo, Luke, Owen and I were little kids and playing near the bridge that led to Harmonica Town. Bo had accidentally shoved me instead of un-freezing me when we were playing freeze tag, and I was too near the edge and fell off into the gorge. I nearly drowned since then I was only 5, and even though I _could_ swim somewhat (I knew survival swimming tactics back then), the waves were still too strong and Ozzie had to come to help me. Thank Harvest Goddess Luke was an insanely fast runner, even back then!

_But I'm not going to fall this time!_ I told myself, taking a deep breath. I crawled to the edge, locked my legs into some ridges, leaned on my elbows, and took out the binoculars, staring out from between a few blades of grass.

I watched her happily, watering her plants and harvesting the ripe ones. She was planting and watering and looked very busy. A cow ambled past her and she stopped briefly to pet it.

I sighed and smiled. She was so peaceful and happy; obviously, this was doing her some good. She ran off to the hot spring after a little while, and was about to change and go in when...

Suddenly, somebody tapped on my shoulder. I screamed a girly scream and whipped around, nearly falling off the cliff.

"Whoa! Calm down. Don't worry, she hasn't seen you yet," an amused, deep voice added. "What were you doing?"

I turned around, staring up at my attacker with wide eyes. It was Calvin. "Oh—uh—Calvin... Hi!" I greeted him brightly.

Obviously that was sort of suspicious, because he narrowed his eyes with a grin. "Hi, Toby. What were you doing, may I ask?" He laughed. "I'll push you off the cliff if you don't."

I laughed at him, too. Calvin was a good friend of mine, but he was serious. Obviously he wouldn't ever hurt anyone—he wouldn't let go of me—but he would make sure that Rose had seen me and yelled at me before pulling me back up again. It was all fun and games for _him_, but he didn't quite realize that it wasn't like that for me, too.

"Erm... Watching Rose," I stammered, embarrassed now that I had been caught. "Why'd you scare me like that?"

"Oh, no reason." He shrugged, still lightly amused. "I just came up here to study the storm clouds for Gill." He frowned. Gill was the weather man for Castanet, but lately he had left because the land was so bad. He'd gone to a town on another island. It was called Sunny Mineral Island or something like that. He had considered a few different towns before he went, but I couldn't really remember the names. "And then I found you. You know," he began briskly, changing the subject, "It's really too bad that Gill left. He was a great friend. Oh... Speaking of which, what were _you_ doing up here, all decked out and hiding behind the grasses, watching Rose with binoculars?" he asked with another laugh. "Why? You don't... like her, do you?"

I decided to use Calvin's excuse from before. "Oh, no reason," I replied, grinning smugly.


	5. Chapter 5

**I describe things too much. XD Anyways... This chapter is short! O.O; What is it; like, one page? *goes back to check* Hey! *is back* It's only a page and a half! DD: **

**Toby: That's what she gets for writing while having Writers' Block, I guess. ^.^; **

**Hey! D: Well, whatever; enjoy! XD **

**Toby: You always say that!**

**Oh, do I? Well, in that case, HATE IT! HATE IT WITH ALL YOUR HEART! DD: I don't mean that literally, of course. ^.^; Like it, and review! 3  
**

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Diary of a Rose Ch.5

Crazy

_Spring 17__th__, early evening_

"Hi!" I called cheerily, skipping into the Refinery Shop Wednesday afternoon. The sun was starting to set—I'd spent all day and all day for the past few days at the Garmon Upper and Lower Mines, finding jewels and lots of other great things. I had amassed quite a collection and I was pretty sure that today I was going to get most of the glass I needed!

Today is Thursday. I spent most of the day fishing and farming lazily, since I need a break from mining. The shops are closed today anyway—it doesn't matter.

Well, anyways, I got 80 pieces of glass today; out of the 165 Wonderful colours I collected the other two days. Hmm, not bad. The only thing is that this could take me longer than I thought!

I'd better get on it tomorrow! For now, though, I think my animals will want to be fed and I'll have to water those other crops I didn't get around to watering this morning!

I lay on a chair on the roof of the Fishery, sitting under the tarp and contemplating the sea. It was raining—_again_—but it wasn't a very hard rain, and besides, it was warm. So, I was outside, watching the droplets fall into the sea.

My kitten, the orange tabby with black stripes and white feet and blue eyes, the one that I had adopted after I found a litter of wet, sodden kittens in the rain the other day, sat in my lap, purring and being stroked. I thought back to that night.

It was 11:00 PM on Spring 14th. I had no idea why I was running to the forest that late at night, or even why I would want to—in normal circumstances, that is. I had forgotten while running past Rose's farm that I had had a fight with Ozzie, but I'd only run farther after that. I was running towards the entrance to the Fugue Forest, when suddenly I heard a loud wail. It sounded high-pitched and scared, and so I ran towards the source of the sound—a little dirt hollow underneath some large, broad-faced leaves, beside which Common Mushrooms grew. I heard some rustling commotion once I got closer. As I ran over there, I noticed a sodden gray shape lying in the tall grass next to the nest. I was over there as quick as a flash, and I gasped in horror when I saw what was there.

_It was a dead large gray female cat with black stripes!_

I realized in an instant what must have happened. The mother cat must have been killed by something-or-other right when she was outside her nest, and the rustling sound must have been whatever it was dashing away, startled at my sudden appearance. I looked into the nest—seven kittens. Two were gray, one was black, one was white with black stripes, one was orange with black stripes and white paws, and two were a mottled orange and white. At least, it appeared that way—it was fairly dark, and I'd only gotten one glimpse when lightning flashed.

_What can I do? They're still so tiny,_ I wondered desperately. I grabbed all seven out of their little nest and stuck them in my jacket. I knew I was going to get soaked; but, I reflected as I ran out of there, the kittens in the jacket bundle under my arm, it would be worth it.

I leaped up from my chair, nearly falling off the roof in the process. It had all seemed so _real_! _So_ vivid, _so_ scary... it was almost like I was back at that night myself. I shook my head. _You're crazy, Toby,_ I told myself.

The kitten growled at me and let out a decidedly tiny hiss as it sat back on my chair, all alone, and I sat in the splattering, falling rain, which was steadily growing worse.

I stepped cautiously back under the tarp, and the kitten—Hiss, I decided its name would be—sat on my lap. I thought about the other kittens downstairs. We were still weaning them off of milk; they were nearly old enough to eat regular cat food and mice. In two weeks, they would be off to their new homes.

It soon started to get worse, the rain falling in sheets, so I headed off the roof, past the aqueduct, and back into the Fishery.


	6. Chapter 6

***sighs* Rain, rain, rain. When will it ever stop? And I also wrote about half of this chapter on a rainy day~! XD **

**Toby: She falls asleep at the end of the chapter. Who? Rose, I mean. It's really funny. XD **

**Her writing just peters out, is all! T.T; Enjoy! ^.^;  
**

Rain

I sighed. _Rain—again._ It was the fourth day that it had been raining continuously, and I was bored. I couldn't fish unless I went to all the trouble of bringing out the tarp-tent. I couldn't go to Rose's farm because she was constantly in the Garmon Mines. I couldn't go to see Renee because she and her parents were so busy hand-feeding and brushing the animals inside the barns now that it was raining. I sighed.

_What _can_ I do?_ I thought with a sigh.

I lay back on my bed, and stared around the room. I had photographs of fish and one small aquarium with a bitterling in it. I couldn't clean it, since I'd done that yesterday.

_And it wasn't even raining that hard!_ I thought bitterly. _What a waste of time._

Suddenly, I had an idea. My kitten had jumped up onto my bed with a pine tree branch in her jaws. She dropped it at my feet and meowed loudly. And it was then that I knew what to do.

_Go to the forest!_ It was _so_ obvious. It didn't rain there, and there was even a swamp in which you could sometimes catch some fish next to the Witch's house! Grinning, I got up. The kitten snapped at my ankles impatiently, and I stroked her head.

"Do you want to go to the forest?" I asked her softly.

She seemed to know what I was saying, since she raised up her head, stared at me, and yowled as if she was saying, _"Yes!"_

I laughed. "I'll just get your harness and leash, and let's go!"

_Spring 21__st__, afternoon_

Well! It's been raining quite hard, and I've been cooped up in here for the past few days. Where's _here_, you ask? Well, the Mines! It's not that cold out, so I've been staying here all day, and one night I fell asleep in here!

Well, this is the fourth day that I've been in here. I've collected a _whole_ big mound of jewels and Wonderful Stones—I'm being really successful!

I haven't been fishing _or_ doing any other things lately because I've been so busy mining.

Which reminds me... I wonder how that Toby creep is doing? He seems to be stalking me; I constantly see him around me...

I put the harness and leash on the kitten, then picked her up and put her in my jacket. I ran down to the forest. It was a half-hour walk! Finally, however, we got there, and I let her down to walk with me. I made sure that my fishing rod was in my pack, and off we went!

_Spring 21__st__, still afternoon_

Leaning against the wall of the mine, sitting on a rock; the rock is cold and it seems to press against my bottom; the air isn't cold, but actually very warm and humid...

Sigh. As usual, I'm sitting at the entrance to the mine, watching the rain fall outside. Today it's strangely hot out, and I've heard that although it's just not possible for thunderstorms to come in the spring, I sense something coming.

Yep... as crazy though it may seem... I can sense the weather! It's just the way the air tastes and feels and the clouds and the sky and if it's raining, the way it's falling.

Maybe it's not a thunderstorm, and I'm just paranoid? I'd like to see a thunderstorm. Whenever we had one back at home, the power would usually go out and we'd be sitting in the dark for five or ten minutes while the maintenance man got the generators in our building working. My parents usually tried to sneak out and make plans to rob some stores, but since the cover of darkness was never very long, their plans would always fall through. Kind of relieving, if you ask me! I never quite believed in a life of stealing, but if you knew my parents you never complained about it…. They wouldn't let you….

Not that anybody knew about their stealing except me, of course. Oh! And the cops, but they didn't know who it was half the time, anyways. I guess that's the problem of working in a huge city! You become so insanely incompetent it's not even funny—well, except to the crooks.

I want to leave because I'm tired, even though I like it here. However! It's cold in here, and I think if I fell asleep in here I'd probably die of cold exhaustion or something. Wait… there's no such thing as cold exhaustion. There's heat exhaustion, though, and hypothermia, neither of which are very pleasant, I'll bet.

The kitten and I walked through the forest paths, trying to make sense of the route and not get lost. I knew the way, but only on the path. If this little kitten decided to panic and run away, she'd probably get us both lost in the thick bushes!

It was dry in the forest, but there were puddles everywhere that the water could get through. It was nice here, though, and I was finally able to relax. After a little while, the kitten collapsed, exhausted, from chasing leaves and bugs all around the forest; I simply picked her up and continued walking.

Once we reached the center of the forest, I saw a large tree. It wasn't raining quite as hard anymore, and I set the kitten down in some soft grass next to the swamp, relieved. I sat down at the swamp and decided to fish.

Apparently, though, fish do not like rain. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that the raindrops splash really hard on the water's surface and scare them? In any case, I barely caught anything, and when I left an hour later I had nothing to show for my efforts, except a lot of small fish. The fish I carried in a little plastic bag in my backpack, and the kitten I carried in my arms. Hiss snoozed peacefully, not complaining or waking up even when I had to leap over bushes and logs. Eventually, I saw that the rain had softened, and when I got out of the forest's entrance the rain had died down to a drizzle. I would have no trouble getting home in this.

_Spring 21__st__, early evening_

Well, I'm home now! I actually got home a little while ago, but, you know, I took a nap as soon as I got in. That's not so bad, is it? The only good thing about this all is that now my crops are watered, and I got all kinds of new gems, so….!

Anyways, it's not so late. I was thinking about going down to Harmonica Town, but don't most shops close at around 5 PM? No, it's not worth extending the energy, even if by now the rain _has_ died down to a drizzle.

I can't remember if I went to pet my animals today? Maybe I'll feed them now, as my cow likes to be fed twice a day, and it certainly won't get out if there's a lot of rain!

I am lazy, though. See? I just went _yawn_! Boy, there's sure not a lot to do here on a rainy day!

Oh, whatever. I am tired and lazy. I think I'll just take a nap, even though I shouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu—


	7. Chapter 7

**So... I've not been interested in Harvest Moon for a LONG time! _; But I have about 26 (yes, last night I counted, haha! xD) unfinished stories, and I decided that I should at least finish ****_some_**** of them, so I decided that this story would be one of the successful candidates! :P**

**There's a poll in my profile, in case you're interested in seeing me continue anything else. :)**

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Indifferent

_Spring 22__nd__, just before dawn_

Oh, my! I'm so sorry, diary! I just sort of fell asleep in the middle of writing! How very unprofessional of me! I just woke up a few minutes ago in a slight haze, having slept so long. Like, what…. 11 hours? Wow!

I guess I'll go outside and attend to all my plants soon, and my animals, too! I'll bet that _they_ won't be too happy that I missed their evening feeding last night! Well, they can blame the human body and its production of melatonin when desperately needed. I certainly won't be taking any responsibility for it!

My, my. I sound a lot like my parents. You know, because they never tried to take responsibility for anything that might have gone wrong, and all that. I should seriously stop that! Going out now!

_Spring 22__nd__, late morning_

Boy, _that_ sure took a while! I think I'll go down to the marina or something and fish. I'm bored. I haven't found any good fish in a while, so I guess I should make a harder attempt at actually finding something worth my time. Fishing is tiring, so I can't just sit for two hours constantly pulling up algae and tiny fish which are only, say... around a hundred Gold. Some go for more; some go for less. Really, some go for _much_ less, like just 7 Gold or something! No, really! I'm really not too surprised that the land is having trouble thriving, bringing in profits like that… Well, I'm off!

**TOBY'S POV**

I stood on the dock, casting my line out to sea. I had not been fishing for very long; just about an hour now, or so, since ten o'clock. Suddenly, something tugged on my line just slightly, and I pulled whatever it was in, studying it.

_A simple mackerel. 13.4 inches,_ I thought to myself. Suddenly, a tap on my shoulder brought me back to the real world, and I yelped and jumped up.

"H-H-Hey!" I turned around, and Rose was standing casually behind me. There was a faint trace of a smile on her face.

"Hey." She said it simply, like she hadn't a care in the world.

My heart started to beat faster, I swear. "Uh—umm! What... What are you doing here?!"

"Fishing." The smile faded somewhat, I think, but as she scanned my expression she grinned. "Why, is it not very obvious?"

"Of course—not...?" My eyes were wide.

She flicked my shoulder. "Well, well, well. Someone's sure spacey!"

_Seeing somebody as good-looking as you does that to a man, you know,_ I thought, but I didn't say that out loud. Heck, _then_ she'd have thought that I was a crazy person! Instead, I said, "Well, I was fishing. Isn't that an excuse enough?"

She smiled as she said, "Sure." She hoisted up her fishing rod over her shoulder. "Let's fish together. I have some time to kill. I could spend an hour or two fishing."  
"Ah—erm—sure," I stammered. "Yes. Come on. Cast in your line." I smiled, and then turned back to the sea. Ah, the sea…. It was almost always the same, but lately something had been amiss. I was not catching the same quality of fish that I once was; our store was suffering. The land was not that fertile or anything, either. I only hoped that there was a way to remedy this. Maybe Rose knew. I mean, she _was_ the resident expert farmer, and all. With everything that had happened lately, surely she'd know what was going on? Even so, I decided not to ask her. She looked deep in thought while fishing; and, besides... maybe she was still working on it.

I shifted aside, giving her more room, and stared out to sea. She was busily fishing, seemingly happily lost in the world of the ocean waves. I wondered what was running through her thoughts, but I found that as I waited for a bite on my own line that I was happy enough just not to bother. Sitting here comfortably with Rose was good enough for me for now.


	8. Chapter 8

**So, this is one of the stories that I'm planning to continue, obviously. ^_^; I may just rewrite the first few chapters, or so... :P**

**I don't know how frequently I will update in the coming months. Truth be told, my life kind of sucks right now. It's hard to explain, but it's emotional issues.**

**...You know what? Why don't I actually just get to the story, instead of rambling away like this? Enjoy! :)**

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Chapter 8: Reflections

ROSE

_Spring 22__nd__, late evening (just before total sunset)_

So, well, today was… interesting. As you know, I spent some time hanging out with Toby by the dock that leads out into the ocean. Well, actually, you don't know the _Toby_ part, but I _was_ fishing. Sigh.

Okay, it is _so_ obvious that the boy has a _major_ crush on me. Like, really. I even thought I saw him darting around suspiciously on the cliff tops the other day! I mean, it sure _looked_ like him; what with the pale blue hair and all.

But that, of course, isn't the issue.

I'm not really sure that I'm interested. In fact, I know for a fact that I'm _not_ interested. I don't _do_ love. I just… _don't_, because of how I was raised (like, really, when you can't love your own parents then it _says something_); I wasn't taught to love, and, actually, I was just taught to mistrust.

Yeah. My life actually sounds like it _really_ sucked, now that I think about it. The only thing that makes me kind of sad is that now that I'm here, I'll never be able to get a driver's license if I don't leave, but, honestly… With the kind of record that _I_ have, what DMV was going to agree to give me a driver's license, anyway? *laughs bitterly*

Well, regardless of that sorry fact, I kind of just went off on a major rant. Oh, well; it _is_ kind of hard to keep track of all your thoughts in an orderly manner when you're writing it all down on paper… Maybe it's just me, though. I don't know.

In any case, how do I deal with Toby? How do I let him know what I'm not interested? I mean, maybe rehab is supposed to make people "change" so that they can love and all that, but to be quite honest, I actually kind of doubt that that will happen by this point. I mean, I spent 16 years without learning to love, and I think you do all your major development in that area by the time you're, like, 5. Who's to say that I even have the ability to learn all that now?

TOBY

I had to say that the day went very, very well.

I had fished down at the docks with Rose and, although we _honestly_ hadn't really talked all that much beyond maybe, "Oh! Good catch with that mackerel!" or whatever fish it happened to be, I figured by this point I could say that I most _definitely_ liked her.

I had kept stealing glances at her while we fished, but I didn't really think that she had noticed it, as intent on the line that she had cast out to sea as she was. I mean, I was good enough, after having so many years of practice, that I could _usually_ fish without looking, but I knew that she couldn't. It didn't take me very long to figure that out when she turned her head northwest slightly to catch sight of the source of a birdcall from something avian flying past the island. A fish had bitten at her rod and it had leapt out of her hands, and it would have escaped into the swift water running below if I had not quickly grabbed it just as it passed by the bottom of the dock. She'd muttered a quick thanks and then resumed fishing, although I witnessed a sort of embarrassed blush creeping up her cheeks when I looked closely enough.

I sat on the roof of the Fishery, my legs hanging down off of the edge. I kicked them lazily and looked out to sea, thinking about Rose.

Suddenly, there was a shout from below me.

"Hey, Toby!" It was Luke's voice. I looked down.

"Hey, Luke, my man! What's up?" Truth be told, that was more of a Luke thing to say, but you couldn't deny that I spoke to impress. There was a covered bin below me that I used to jump down onto the ground without injuring myself.

"I was just searching for some _awesome_ quest kind of things to do, when I heard Dale needed some more wood chopped! I was going to go to the Forest, but it might be fun to have someone join me. You down for that?" He looked rather excited about the prospect.

"Yeah, sure." I grinned. "Now?"

"Yeah, now!" He nodded. "Come on, man, let's go!" And with that, we ran off in the direction of the Flute Fields district.

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**Feel free to leave a review, if you please, ehehe! ^_^; I think that Toby was kind of out of character, at least in this last chapter. :c**


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